A Kemper County teenager is being formally charged with robbing a Meridian bank.

Christieon Crump was taken into custody Thursday at a relative's house in Kemper County. The 17-year-old from DeKalb made an initial appearance before a Meridian judge Friday. Bond was set at $500,000.

Crump is charged with Wednesday morning's armed robbery at the Commercial Bank branch on Highway 39 North. Officers say he was armed with a shotgun.

Acting Meridian Police Chief James Sharpe says quick action by law enforcement officials, and the public at large led to the arrest.

"We put out the information in a timely fashion, as soon as the incident happened," said Sharpe. "Witnesses came forward and said, 'We saw this vehicle heading this way'. We contacted other agencies and we were able to kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together and take the subject into custody."

Sharpe says Crump did not resist arrest when he was taken into custody at a relative's house Thursday. Although they are not releasing an exact amount, investigators say the suspect got away with a substantial amount of money.

"He has been cooperating with our investigation as far as the incident itself and possibly where we can recover some of the property," Sharpe said.

Sharpe says officials are in the process of recovering evidence. Along with MPD, he credits the East Mississippi Drug Task Force and Kemper County Sheriff's Department with getting the case to this point.

"We have a good strong case to take to the grand jury and to take to court following," said Sharpe.

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